Decorticating fibrous materials



June 22 1926 H. J. CRAYMER DECORTIGATING FIBROUS MATERIALS Filed June 5 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Figi.

Arma/wins Junev 22 1926.

H. J. CRAYMER DECORTICATING F'IBROUS MATERIALS Filed June 5, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented .lune 22, 1926.

errar ne HENRY' JAMES' CRAYMER, OF' BECKHAM, LONDOBL, ENGLAND.

enne'rvrieirrme`r Firmes. MATERIALS',

Application filed June'- 5; 1924, SeriallNo; 718;152ga11d1i11GrcatBritan June 29,' 19%3.

'llhepresent invention' relates tothe decorticatng ofv fibrous n'iiterials,y andV relates more particularly to the' segaraztion of' the libere from: each other and from theu fleshy parta olfk the material byy means of. aI rubbing;y action2 transversely to thev length.' of. the fibers, causedi by feeding: the material beftween; rotating: rollerewhich: are also moved longitudinally in relatively opposite directions.y

Priori toithis,v invention: itL hasV only been proposedl to produce a to and 'Ero rubbing actioir on= the fibersby means of' longitudinally. reciproeatingmollers, but according; to the present invention the fibers are sub jected to =acontinuous rubbing; action always in the same directioni ln accordance withf they foregoing it is necessaryA for the fiber containing'` leaf' or other inaterialito be generally fed forward in. one directienwhilst one' surface thereof iesimultaneously` moved always inthe saine direction transversely of they direction of feed', and thefother surface issiinultaneously n loved: always ini thev opposite transverse dilrectioni This result mayhe' achievedgao.` cofrding; toi at further part of the invention, by simultaneonslyL moving; the' two` sun-faces always in the samef directions; equally iin; clined. to? opposite sides Y ofi the direction'. of feed, as for instaneerbypassing: thefinatelrial `et-ween two snrfaceszmoving generally in the direction oli feed butrmore: particularly mov ing;x always in: the same Adirections-eq ually'y and eppositely` inclined. tosucli direction of: feed;

The: inventionfurther includes ai machine for carrying' the afbeve"described:y process into practicalvefect. In? suclizmacsliinetlie ma teriali ie passed between one or lInorepaire:of rotating` rollers which both have line= conL tact at right angles: to the directionV ofy feed withv the opposite* sides of materiali passing therehetween,A said rollers f rotating:- in opino; site directions, i and their censtructioni being ,auch4 that when` the rollers are rotated every point@ alongf the contacty line' of: one roller alwaysr moves inf the same directinn inclined to: one-side' of the directionl of feed, and. every pointvalong. the contact line`v of the other roller always moveainther same direction. inclined. to' the` other Side of` the direction of feed;

More specifically` in the machine hereinafter Vfully described, rollers of the above kindlare divided axially'into longitudinally movable sections, and' means are provided for movingl the sections of each roller successively, first in one direction longitudinally off the roller whilst lin Contact. withv the materiah under treat-mentV and then. iny the-other direction whilst out of contact with the imaterialunder treatment, the movementsof the sections of thetwo rollers being so co-related that the` roller surfaces. in Contact with? the material under treatment move longitudinally in opposite directions. Thus the niaterialis;l fed generally in a directionV at right angles'tothe plane of-the rollers,.but simultaneously its outer surfaces areI also, as it were,r rubbed always in# the* samel direction transveree'lyy across each': other'. Means may he proiiidedfor scrapingthe surfaces ofthe rollers to free thennfrommateri an adhering thereto,- f andf water 'or other liquidI is sprayed onlor between theb rollers-or-upon the material after leavin-gi` therollers.`

According to aimodilication the rollers are each constructed: of a'. number of parallel discsV placed sideiby side and.V co-anially=-v surreundi'nggal common shaft, the. discs all being equally; inclined angularlyy to the. aXisl of the-shaft and eaclil heingrotated inthe planev in which. it is set-1 A pair. of? rollers constituting; a lset have their shafts. dispoeed parallel. and their disesfinclincd oppositely'an'd equally to the. plan-econtainingl the two sliafts,.- and are yieldingly pressed4v 'towards eachl other sothati whenthe discs forming;P thef surfaces: of'l the two' rollers are rotated they hear withy the desired degree of pres sure on material fed'therebetween;

ln order thati the: inventionmay be,` clearly understoody machinery embodying` same is hereinafter" described' by way of* example withA reference tof the. accompanying drawings', in which v Fi gurefl `sa=plairview of one construction of` decortieating;i machine for carrying the invention into practice, Y

Figure 2 is an end elevation' of the inachine,

Figure 3- ie a secionalevelation onv the line rr-A1 of. Figure. lybut tc-aflarger scale and with the fronthalf; off the? upper roller removed,

Figure? l isagart sectional-andrpart ele'- eol vational side viewV of a portion of the machine to the same scale as Figure 3, and

Figure is a longitudinal section of a modified construction of roller.

Figure 6 is a sectional view elevation of one end thereof showing certain details of the roller.

The machine comprises a plurality of pairs of superposed rollers 1 arranged in a horizontal line in a rectangular frame 2 mounted on longitudinal supporting members 3. The machine is conveniently built up of any desired number of rectangular sections, each carrying a suitable number of pairs ofV rollers and forming a unit, the several units constituting a complete machine being assembled together, for example,

by bolting their frames together.' The sides of the frame 2 are built up of horizontal members 9 carrying vertical posts 10 fastened at their upper ends to horizontal bars 11. v

The surfaces of the rollers may all be smooth, but preferably, as shown, the .rst few pairs of rollers are grooved peripherally in order to increase the severity of their action. Such grooves may be parallel to each other and arranged at right angles to, or inclined to the axes of the rollers, or

they may be helical. Moreover, the depth,

spacing, and/or inclination to the roller axes, of the grooves may be varied throughout the grooved rollers to give a progressively diminishing severity of action as the material passes through the machine.

Between adjacent lower rollers are mounted on brackets transversely of the frame 2, scraper bars 4 which almost touch the roller surfaces which move towards them and serve to remove any fleshy material adhering to the rollers. Said scraper bars 4 are preferably arranged above the level of the roller axes and are wide enough to serve also as bridges and guides for the material between adjacent pairs of4 rollers. Running longitudinally of the machine above the frame 2 is a water supply pipe 5 having at intervals therealong pipes 6k depending downwardly between adjacent pairs of rollers. On the ends of the pipes 6 are provided transverse pipes 7 which are perforated so as to direct water forwardly and/or backwardly between the rollers for the purpose of washing fleshy matter and juices away from the bers in their passage through the machine. Tater is supplied to the pipe 5 by a pump, tank or other water supplying device.

The lower rollers lare journalled in stationary bearing blocks 8 fixed in holes in the lower members 9 of the frame 2, and the upper rollers 1 are journalled lin, bearing blocks 12 slidable between adjacent spaced posts 10 of the frame 2. The bearing-blocks 12 are suspended from the bars 11 by bolts 13, the upper ends of which pass freely through the bars 11 and carry nuts 14. On the threaded stems of the bolts 13 are hand nuts 15, and springs 16 bear between the nuts 15 andthe bars 11. Thus the springs 16 automatically press the upper rollers l towards the lower rollers so far as is permitted by the nuts'14. By adjustment of the nuts 14 thespacing of the upper and lower rollers can be regulated, whilst by adjustment of the nuts 15 the pressure of the rollers upon material passing therebetween and of greater thickness than the space between the rollers can be regulated.

The rollers 1 themselves are each divided aXialiy into two longitudinal sections 17 of semi-circular cross section webbed internally at two points tol carry polygonal bearing sleeves 18 slidable on the roller shaft 19 which, except at its ends where journalled in the frame 2, vis of polygonal section, so that there is rotating driving connection between the roller shaft 1.9 and the rollersections 17, but the latter are free to slide longitudinally on said shaft. The bearing sleeves 18 are so positioned along the lengths of their roller sections as to allow longitudinal movement of the roller sections 17 as hereinafter described. The shafts 19 are hollow, and lubricating oil is fed into their d ends through branches from an oil supply pipe 20, and passes to the surfaces of the shafts through holes formed therein along the paths of theV bearing V.sleeves 18 and within the bearing blocks 8 and 12.

On one side of the machine the upper and lower roller shafts 19 of each pair are geared together by gears 21, and the lower shafts extend sufficiently far to carry bevel gears 22 gearing with a series of bevel wheels 23 along a common shaft 24 extending parallel to the length of the machine and journalled in brackets 25 carried by the supporting members 3. On the opposite side of the machine one of the roller shafts 19 carries a fast driving pulley 26, whereby the machine may be belt driven from a suitable source of power. Obviously, however, fast and loose pulleys could be provided on said shaft, or said shaft may be driven by power in any other suitable and convenient manner. 1

On the opposite end of each roller section 17 are fastened semi-circular end cams 27, the edges of which contact with fixed horizontally disposed rollers 28 mounted diametrically above and below the shafts 19 on extensions of the bearing blocks 8 and 12. The cam surfaces on each section and on the adjacent ends of the two sections are oppositely inclined so as to cause longitudinal movement of the rollers 1 as they are rotated, `as hereinafter described, and on one side of the machine the rollers 28 are arranged below the shafts 19 and on the 1i, seo; 085

other side they arearranged above the shafts 19. Further, the rollers l or each pair are so geared together that co-operatingsections 17- olf the tivo-rollers move inY longitudinally opposite direct-ions.

The ends of he trameV 2 are closed by plates 29 having rectangular openings 30 therein through which material? can be passed into andl out ot the machine as the case; may be. The side and lower edges olsuch openings may be flanged at`- 31' tol enable-trays7 or the like, to be secure-d in iront of? said openings if desired. The' machine may beI conveniently mounted above a troughor Well 32 inclinedl towards a drain, sothat the water andthe juices and fleshy material separated from the libers can run to waste. i

Wlienin oper-ationfthe pulley 26 is driven in suchadirection that the rollers 1- continually rotate in theappropriate direction, andtlieraw liber containing material is led in through the opening 30 between the peripherally grooved rollers 1 atV one end of? the machine; The material: is carried through the machine and simultaneously crushed by theV rollers 1 and at the same time itis subjected to a continuous rubbing act-ion inthesaine. direction transversely to the lengths or thebers owing to the action of the rollers 28 on the cams 27 the ar rangement hereinbelore described being such that'y iii-any pair oli co-operating rollers, when one operative roller'sectionl 17- is nioving-inA one direction transversely of themachine,V theother section-17 of' the sameroller and the co-operating` section 17 of thev other roller 1 are moving inthe opposite transverse direction; Thus,l immediately a roller section 17I passes out of contact with the material it is moved transversely ind the' op'- positedirection until it again comes .in1 contact with the: material whenV the direction orf its transverse motion again changes Vto theA sameas 1 it was when previously in contact with the material. Thus in passing through' the' machine the upper and lower surfaces o'l44 the materialf are,` always rubbed inthe same opposite directions transversely to the leng'tlis'oiai the fibers, theoperative', or libercontacting surlacesoli' the rollers 1 always having a helical orscrewing motion in the; same direction which is opposite for the upper and lower sets ofV rollers.

lir the modilicatioir illustrated'- by' Figure in place ol the rollers 1, I employy de; corticating rollers whicharebuilt up'V orV a number or metal. discsl 5S" disposed side'by side and rotatable on' bushes 59 which are bored internally at'f an"angle` preferably of 671/2`o` to their geometrical" axes and are keyed to the roller shafts 55. End plates are interposed between the end discs 58 and the worm wheels 57 and any slackness between the discs due to wear is adapted to beltaken'lup'by rotary adljustmen't of'pe'ripheral ringV portions 64sv on the end rings'58, whichring'portions haveal screw thread engagement with the oentralport'ions of the discs and are provided with holes 74 to enable them to'- be rotated byv a. suitable tool. Zhen adjusted; thering portions 64 can be heldl fast by grub screwsl75a The discs 58 of eacla roller are adapted to' be rotated simultaneously means of longitudinal driving rodsl which itintolconical recesses in the Worm wheels 57 atithe` ends of the rollersl and pass` throughregistering double conicall eccentric boresin thediscs 58. 'llhe wormv wheels 57 are driven by wormscom` mon toeach coeoperating pair oiirollers andV provided in place olf? the bevel wheels 23 on a; common shaft.

lift should be noted that although, owing to the rollers being built up or inclined discs 58 their surlaces appear in- Figure 5 not tebe smooth, yet along the line oliconL tact of co-operating pair-s of' rollers-the surfaces are perfectly smooth7 for which rea'- son, if desired., the roller surface maybe grooved peripherally, as hereinbefore described lor the rollers 1,\in orderto render the initial decorticating action moresevere andto prevent slipping ol the material longitudinally or the rollers.. Further, alL though the discs' 58 ci alll the rollers or a machine may.` have the saine inclination to the axis ort-he rollerg theinclinations ofthe discs 58 in consecutive pairso' rollers may vary inorder to give* di'll'erent degrees of severity to the decorti'cat-ing' action.-

ln regard to llligures 1 to i-itf' should be notedI that the'l anglesr` and' height ofl the cams 27 on the-rollers 1 may belvaried for successive pairs` o1c rollers olirouglroutE the machine to alter the; severityv ol action by varying the speed ofE opposite.transverse movement" oli"tlierollersections andY ious other modifications inI the' lieij'einbeiiorlef de'- scribed constructions may bej made without depart-ing Jromthe` spirit'- oiY the invent-ion.

ln a machine having a series o'l" pairs of deeorticating rollers' according tothisfinven tion all the pairs oli rollers mayy rubthe fibers inthe same direction; i1 e; thetop sur-- lace` always Jin one di rection and the bottoni surface always in the other direction, or the'rubbing'action` may be in the opposite direction for adjacent paairsofrollers, i. e. each surface or the i'irteri-al is alternately rubbed in opposite dire/eticiisv consecutiveupp'er orlower-rollers.l Totliis end the cams andA rollers orq the roller sections are soarrai'rged that at; any particular' moment the operative sections or acerrtl upper or lower rolles are mov-ing longitudinally in opposite directions.

What I claim is:

1. A process for decorticating librous materials, including the steps of feeding the material between a pair of decorticating rollers, and by means ofsaid rollers rubbing the two outer surfaces of the material always in the same contrary directions transversely of the length of the fibers. n

2. A method of decorticating fibrous materials, including the step of rpassing the material between a pair of rollers, the operative surface of one roller being givena motion to feed the material generally forward betweenthe rollers and simultaneously move one surface of the material always in the same direction longitudinally of the roller, and the operative surface of the other roller being given a motion to feed the material generally also in the same direction as the first roller, and to move the other surface of the material always in the same direction longitudinally of the roller, but oppositely to the first roller.

3. A method of decorticating fibrous materials, including the steps of feeding the material between a pair of decorticating rollers, and by means of said rollers simnltaneously moving the two surfaces of the material in directions equally inclined to, but on opposite sides of, the common direction of feed.

4l. A machine for decorticating fibrous materials, comprising incombination, two co-acting decorticating surfaces, means for moving same continuously in the same lfeeding direction, and means for moving said surfaces always in the same directions equally but oppositely inclined to the common feeding direction.

5. A machine for decorticating n fibrous materials, comprising in combination, a pair of co-acting rollers between which the material is fed, means for rotating each of said rollers in constant opposite directions to give a constant direction of feed, and means for imparting to the material contacting surfaces of said rollers screwing motions always in the same directions for each roller, said directions. being opposite for the two rollers.

6. A machine for decorticating fibrous materials, comprising a pair 'of rotating rollers divided axially into longitudinally movable sections, in combination with means for moving the sections of each roller successively first in one direction longitudinally of the roller whilst in Contact with the material under treatment, and then in the other direction whilst out of contact with the material under treatment, said means being so adjusted that the movements of the sections of the two rollers are so co-related that at any given moment the roller surfaces in contact with the material under Vends of the roller sections so as to act on the roller sections successively, the fixed rollers at one end always moving the roller sections of a roller in one direction, and

those at the other end always moving the,

roller sections in the opposite direction.

9. A machine as setforth in claim 6, including parallel shafts for each pair of cooperating rollers, and means for yieldingly pressing said shafts towards each other so that the rollers bear with the desired degree of pressure on material of the normal thickness fed therebetween and yield to material of greater than normal thickness.

l0. A machine as set forth in claim 6, comprising a plurality of pairs of decortieating rollers disposed to act on the material successively, a common power shaft for the machine, and means for rotating all of said rollers at equal peripheral speeds from said common power shaft.

l1. A machine as set forth in claim 6, comprising a plurality of pairs of decortieating rollers, some of saidl rollers being grooved peripherally in pairs.

12. A machine for decorticating fibrous materials, comprising a pair of co-operating rollersveach divided into sections, means for rotating each of said rollers in constant opposite directions to give a constant direction of feed, and means for imparting relative secondary motion to said sections axially of Athe rollers during rotation thereof.

18. A machine as set forth in claim 6, including a successively acting series of decorticating rollers, means for rot-ating all of said rollers to feed material fed therebetween always in the saine direction, and means for moving the sections of said roll- .ers axially of the rollers so that at any moment the rollers on each side of the inaterial are all moving alternately in opposite axial directions, co-operating rollers on oppositesides of the material moving also in opposite axial directions. y

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HENRY' JAMES CRAYMER. 

